Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond is the last detective: a genuine gumshoe, committed to door-stopping and deduction rather than fancy computer gadgetry. So when the naked body of a woman is found floating in the weeds in a lake near Bath with no one willing to identify her, no marks, and no murder weapon, his sleuthing abilities are tested to the limit.

4 out of 5 stars

Pleasantly surprised -- loved Inspector Diamond!

By
Tracey
on
01-06-13

The Circle

By:
Peter Lovesey

Narrated by:
Simon Prebble

Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
110

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
97

Story

4 out of 5 stars
97

Widowed van driver Bob Naylor is prodded into joining the Chichester Writers' Circle by his teenage daughter. Bob writes limericks and jingles, and fears he will be out of his class amongst the literati. But the members of the circle come from all walks of life and practice many forms of writing, from fantasy to household hints. There seems to be nothing about any of them to incite a serial killer. However, there is an arsonist in their midst, burning his victims to death, and Bob becomes a suspect.

5 out of 5 stars

Clever and very amusing.

By
Megan
on
05-07-14

A Dedicated Man

An Inspector Banks Novel

By:
Peter Robinson

Narrated by:
James Langton

Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
216

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
156

Story

4 out of 5 stars
157

A dedicated man is dead in the Yorkshire dales---a former university professor, wealthy historian, and archaeologist who loved his adopted village. It is a particularly heinous slaying, considering the esteem in which the victim, Harry Steadman, was held by his neighbors and colleagues---by everyone, it seems, except the one person who bludgeoned the life out of the respected scholar and left him half-buried in a farmer's field.

4 out of 5 stars

As good as the first

By
Kindle Customer
on
06-17-14

The Crow Trap

A Vera Stanhope Mystery

By:
Ann Cleeves

Narrated by:
Anne Dover

Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
635

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
574

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
566

Three very different women come together to complete an environmental survey. Three women who, in some way or another, know the meaning of betrayal.... For team leader Rachael Lambert, the project is the perfect opportunity to rebuild her confidence after a double betrayal by her lover and boss, Peter Kemp. Botanist Anne Preece, on the other hand, sees it as a chance to indulge in a little deception of her own. And then there is Grace Fulwell, a strange, uncommunicative young woman with plenty of her own secrets to hide....

5 out of 5 stars

Worth the Wait

By
Marina
on
02-26-17

A Share in Death

By:
Deborah Crombie

Narrated by:
Michael Deehy

Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
1,061

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
915

Story

4 out of 5 stars
914

A week's holiday in a luxurious hotel is just what Scotland Yard's Superintendent Duncan Kincaid needs. But his vacation ends dramatically with the discovery of a dead body in the whirlpool bath. Despite a suspicious lack of cooperation from the local constabulary, Kincaid's keen sense of duty won't allow him to ignore the heinous crime, impelling him to send for his enthusiastic young assistant, Sergeant Gemma James. But the stakes are raised significantly when a second murder occurs....

3 out of 5 stars

series readers, start here

By
connie
on
02-09-13

A Test of Wills

By:
Charles Todd

Narrated by:
Samuel Giles

Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
685

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
606

Story

4 out of 5 stars
599

Ian Rutledge returns to his career at Scotland Yard after years fighting in the First World War. Unknown to his colleagues he is still suffering from shell shock, and is burdened with the guilt of having had executed a young soldier on the battlefield for refusing to fight. A jealous colleague has learned of his secret and has managed to have Rutledge assigned to a difficult case which could spell disaster for Rutledge whatever the outcome. A retired officer has been murdered, and Rutledge goes to investigate.

4 out of 5 stars

Good early work in series

By
Kathi
on
01-30-14

The Last Detective

An Inspector Peter Diamond Investigation

By:
Peter Lovesey

Narrated by:
Simon Prebble

Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
517

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
457

Story

4 out of 5 stars
453

Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond is the last detective: a genuine gumshoe, committed to door-stopping and deduction rather than fancy computer gadgetry. So when the naked body of a woman is found floating in the weeds in a lake near Bath with no one willing to identify her, no marks, and no murder weapon, his sleuthing abilities are tested to the limit.

4 out of 5 stars

Pleasantly surprised -- loved Inspector Diamond!

By
Tracey
on
01-06-13

The Circle

By:
Peter Lovesey

Narrated by:
Simon Prebble

Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
110

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
97

Story

4 out of 5 stars
97

Widowed van driver Bob Naylor is prodded into joining the Chichester Writers' Circle by his teenage daughter. Bob writes limericks and jingles, and fears he will be out of his class amongst the literati. But the members of the circle come from all walks of life and practice many forms of writing, from fantasy to household hints. There seems to be nothing about any of them to incite a serial killer. However, there is an arsonist in their midst, burning his victims to death, and Bob becomes a suspect.

5 out of 5 stars

Clever and very amusing.

By
Megan
on
05-07-14

A Dedicated Man

An Inspector Banks Novel

By:
Peter Robinson

Narrated by:
James Langton

Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
216

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
156

Story

4 out of 5 stars
157

A dedicated man is dead in the Yorkshire dales---a former university professor, wealthy historian, and archaeologist who loved his adopted village. It is a particularly heinous slaying, considering the esteem in which the victim, Harry Steadman, was held by his neighbors and colleagues---by everyone, it seems, except the one person who bludgeoned the life out of the respected scholar and left him half-buried in a farmer's field.

4 out of 5 stars

As good as the first

By
Kindle Customer
on
06-17-14

The Crow Trap

A Vera Stanhope Mystery

By:
Ann Cleeves

Narrated by:
Anne Dover

Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
635

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
574

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
566

Three very different women come together to complete an environmental survey. Three women who, in some way or another, know the meaning of betrayal.... For team leader Rachael Lambert, the project is the perfect opportunity to rebuild her confidence after a double betrayal by her lover and boss, Peter Kemp. Botanist Anne Preece, on the other hand, sees it as a chance to indulge in a little deception of her own. And then there is Grace Fulwell, a strange, uncommunicative young woman with plenty of her own secrets to hide....

5 out of 5 stars

Worth the Wait

By
Marina
on
02-26-17

A Share in Death

By:
Deborah Crombie

Narrated by:
Michael Deehy

Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
1,061

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
915

Story

4 out of 5 stars
914

A week's holiday in a luxurious hotel is just what Scotland Yard's Superintendent Duncan Kincaid needs. But his vacation ends dramatically with the discovery of a dead body in the whirlpool bath. Despite a suspicious lack of cooperation from the local constabulary, Kincaid's keen sense of duty won't allow him to ignore the heinous crime, impelling him to send for his enthusiastic young assistant, Sergeant Gemma James. But the stakes are raised significantly when a second murder occurs....

3 out of 5 stars

series readers, start here

By
connie
on
02-09-13

A Test of Wills

By:
Charles Todd

Narrated by:
Samuel Giles

Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
685

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
606

Story

4 out of 5 stars
599

Ian Rutledge returns to his career at Scotland Yard after years fighting in the First World War. Unknown to his colleagues he is still suffering from shell shock, and is burdened with the guilt of having had executed a young soldier on the battlefield for refusing to fight. A jealous colleague has learned of his secret and has managed to have Rutledge assigned to a difficult case which could spell disaster for Rutledge whatever the outcome. A retired officer has been murdered, and Rutledge goes to investigate.

4 out of 5 stars

Good early work in series

By
Kathi
on
01-30-14

Publisher's Summary

In the small hours of a Sunday morning in the city of Bath, a policeman on beat duty is shot dead by an unseen gunman - the third killing of an officer in Somerset in a matter of weeks. The emergency services are summoned. Ambitious to arrest the Somerset Sniper, the duty inspector, Ken Lockton, seals the crime scene, which is confined by the river on one side and a massive retaining wall on the other. He discovers the murder weapon in a garden - and is himself attacked and left for dead.

Enter Peter Diamond, Bath's burly CID chief. Middle-aged and not built for action, he pits himself and his team against the killer in a hunt that will test his physical powers to the limit....

Not the Best in Series

While I enjoy the Peter Diamond series in general, I didn't care for the side story of the blog writer. I think it was more fun to write than to read. Peter Diamond as curmudgeon is especially strong in this one.

Good as always

Lovesey has another different mysteryThe only pattern in his mysteries is their complexity thwarting predictions or comparisons with earlier ones in the series. This one with its subplot threatened to repeat an earlier mystery with amateur sleuths but Lovesey surprised us here with a totally novel twist. He always satisfies